Vast Differences
by Euphoria994
Summary: Stoick goes to search with Hiccup for the Night Fury, but after an unexpected attack by the dragon, Stoick finds himself changed by the experience. Now he must learn how to live with the changes. But it's tough to juggle being a father, a Viking, and a Night Fury all at once.
1. A Different Path

Chapter 1 - A Different Path

The forest was quiet as Hiccup walked steadily along the path, his eyes glued to the crudely drawn map of Berk in his journal. Only the crunching of dry leaves beneath his feet served to break the natural, calm ambiance. Occasionally, he would stop, mark or erase something on the map, or even just stare at it for a few moments, and then continue walking, sometimes turning in a random direction. Every once in a while, he would mumble quietly to himself, usually something like "It would've gone this way." or "It's around here somewhere."

"Alright." Hiccup said slowly, speaking out loud for the first time since he had started his search, rising excitement, and a sense of relief, creeping into his voice. "It's right...around...here!" the young Viking announced, pointing up ahead. His face fell as he realized that the patch of grass that he was pointing at was exactly that...a patch of grass.

A loud irritated huff came from behind Hiccup, making the teen cringe. He turned around slowly, his nervous expression turning up to meet Stoick's, who, with his crossed arms, stiff posture, and fierce scowl, looked liked he was determined to never look happy ever again.

"Uh, sorry dad, I um...must have gotten...turned around...somewhere..." Hiccup said meekly, turning around to study his journal's map again. Stoick rolled his eyes, but otherwise did nothing but continue to follow Hiccup as the latter started walking again.

...

Stoick was fuming as he carried Hiccup by the back of his collar, the latter of whom was spilling out excuses and self-justifications as fast as his mouth would let him. After having just fought a Monstrous Nightmare with nothing but his own bare fists, only for a pillar to fall and help free a group of Nadders that he had helped capture, all because his son hadn't had the good sense to simply stay put where it was safe, his patience was wearing dangerously thin.

"It's not like the last few times, Dad." Hiccup said, making Stoick wince as the memories of the 'last few times' quickly ran through his mind. "I mean I really actually hit it. You guys were busy and I had a very clear shot. It went down, just off Raven Point." Stoick unceremoniously let go of Hiccup, who turned to face him as soon as he was back on his own two feet. "Let's get a search party out there, before it-"

"STOP!" Stoick yelled, finally having had enough. He closed his eyes and took a breath, forcing himself to stay calm before opening them to look at his son again. "Just...stop."

Silence fell between them. A crowd gathered around them, eager to hear what the Chief had to say.

"Every time you step outside, disaster follows." Stoick said, a statement that at one time would've hit Hiccup like a sack of bricks, but the latter was, sadly, used to it by now. "Can you not see that I have bigger problems? Winter's almost here and I have an entire village to feed!"

Hiccup looked around at the villagers surrounding them and Stoick could already see the snarky remark forming in his son's mind.

"Between you and me, the village could do with a little less feeding, don't ya think?" the young Viking said, oblivious to the indignant reactions of some of the more...self-conscious villagers.

"This isn't a joke, Hiccup!" Stoick said, growing exasperated. "Why can't you follow the simplest orders?"

"I can't stop myself." Hiccup answered. "I see a dragon and I have to just...kill it, you know? It's who I am, Dad." Hiccup said.

Stoick sighed. "You are many things, Hiccup. But a dragon killer..."

Stoick's voice trailed off as he turned away from his son. What was he going to say? That his son wasn't a dragon killer? It _was_ true, but a part of him still held out hope for his son. The tiniest sliver of hope that one could hold, but hope nonetheless. Add that to the fact that his son clearly had the ambition, even if it did mean disobeying his elders...

"...well, you're not one yet." Stoick finished.

"I know." Hiccup said, starting to sound exasperated himself. "That's why I'm telling you, I just shot down a Night Fury!"

A few gasps could be heard from the crowd, and everyone looked to Stoick for his response. The Chief of the Hairy Hooligans looked neither surprised nor impressed. Instead, Stoick grabbed the bridge of his nose, his annoyance with his son reaching its peak. Out of all the things his son had done or claimed, this was the most delusional thing he had ever heard, from ANY Viking. Seeing this response, the villagers began to disperse, some thinking the boy had completely lost his mind, others laughing at the idea of the scrawny kid taking down the most feared of dragons.

"Hiccup I am not-" Stoick began.

"Dad, by Odin, I swear, it's in the forest, most likely off Raven Point."

"Hiccup I-"

"If we just get a search party together-"

"ENOUGH!" Stoick cried, shutting up Hiccup. "I am not going to waste the morning looking for a Night Fury that you may or may NOT have shot down." Stoick threw his hands up in the air. "How would you have shot it down anyway?"

"I used a bola launcher." Hiccup said, eager to explain himself.

"A what?" Stoick interrupted. "You've been inventing stuff again, haven't you?" he said, his fists clenching.

"Yes Dad...but this time it actually did what it was supposed to do!" Hiccup answered quickly, seeing the angry look on his father's face.

Stoick didn't relax as he looked into Hiccup's eyes, looking for the slightest hint of a lie or self-doubt, but he found none. In its place, however, was the look of a young man who desperately wanted his father to believe him for once. Hiccup looked down, away from his fathers intense and judging gaze, as his father continued to decide of what to do with him.

A few moments passed in which neither of the two said anything. They were completely alone now, the villagers having left to get busy rebuilding and take stock of their losses.

Stoick let out a deep breath. "Alright."

Hiccup looked up, an eyebrow raised in suspicious disbelief.

"Alright? Is that a 'Alright, you believe me?' or 'Alright, let's drop the matter entirely?'" Hiccup asked sarcastically.

"I don't believe you." Stoick replied bluntly. "At least, not until we find the dragon."

"Ok then, I'll just-wait what?" Hiccup said, doing a double take as his face lit up with excitement.

"Just me and you." Stoick said. "We'll go into the forest and search for the thing ourselves."

Hiccup beamed. "Oh, thank you dad!" he said. "You won't regret this, I promise you!" He turned to head into the house. "Let me just get my journal, there's a map that we can-"

"Hiccup." Stoick interrupted.

"Yeah?" his son replied, pausing as he was about to step inside the house.

"It. Better. Be. There." Stoick growled.

Hiccup's eagerness evaporated at the Chief's words, his face showing nervous regret. After gulping quite audibly, he ran inside to get his map.

…

The morning sun's rays shined beautifully through the trees of the forest, but the nice scenery did nothing to improve Stoick's mood. His son's constant turning and stopping was now starting to drive him insane. It wouldn't have bothered him so much if he thought that Hiccup knew where he was going, but over an hour had passed since they had started their search, and they were still yet to find a dragon. Although as Stoick believed that there was likely no dragon to find in the first place, all of this was quickly beating down what little patience he had left into the ground. Not to mention that the sliver of hope he had held that Hiccup might ever become a true Viking had long since been spent on this pointless escapade.

Finally, after a little more of the walking, turning, and stopping, Stoick had had enough

"Hiccup." he said, his voice tired and annoyed. His anger from before had mostly faded during their search...mostly.

Hiccup stopped, but didn't turn around, too engrossed in his journal. "Yes dad?"

"We've been out here searching all morning, and we haven't seen a single trace of your dragon." Stoick said. Hiccup quickly turned to face him, almost as if he had expected this moment.

"No, dad, it's around here somewhere!" the young Viking said, almost pleadingly. "I promise, just give me a little more time, and I'll-"

"No, Hiccup." Stoick said, the finality in his voice making his son go quiet. "We're done here."

Hiccup's shoulder's drooped, and his expression was sullen as he closed his journal. "Well, I guess it's as good a time as any to stop now. I was completely lost anyway." He looked up at his dad, who was already busy trying to find out which way was north via the sun and trees. At the same time, he also looked to be trying hard to forget his son was there, and that he was the reason they had spent the morning wandering around the forest. Hiccup struggled to think of what to say.

"Look dad." the boy began, looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry that I dragged you out here...I was just...so sure that I..."

"Hiccup." Stoick suddenly interrupted. Hiccup fell quiet once again, thinking his dad just wanted him to shut up and let him work.

"Hiccup!" Stoick said again, causing Hiccup to look up at him indignantly.

"I'm being quiet dad, what do you-" Hiccup complained, but then he stopped as he saw what his dad was looking at.

A broken tree trunk sat a little ways away from where they were standing.

"Oh...that's new." Hiccup said. Stoick didn't respond. Instead, he quickly began walking over to it, with Hiccup having to jog to keep up with the larger Viking's strides. Both Viking's studied the trunk for a moment, before Hiccup spoke up.

"Uh, dad?"

Stoick looked over at his son, who was pointing over at a trail of broken branches, similar destroyed trunks, and a flat path of wet dirt. Hiccup started to follow it when he suddenly felt Stoick's hand grab his shoulder.

"Stay behind me Hiccup." Stoick said lowly, as he pulled a large dagger from his vest. He cursed himself for not having brought something larger to defend himself with, but a Viking made do with what he had.

Both father and son followed the path downhill, Hiccup trailing close behind Stoick. A little too close, for barely a moment later, his dad stopped without warning, causing Hiccup to walk straight into his dad's backside.

"Hey dad, for future reference, can you warn me the next time I might get hurt chasing your shadow?" Hiccup said as he rubbed his aching head. "I mean, isn't that your hobby by now?"

"Son, look." Stoick said, who was peering over a ridge.

Hiccup got on the ridge and looked over. A second later, he gasped and instinctively ducked back down before getting the nerve to look again.

A large sleek black dragon was tangled in ropes a little ways down from where the two Vikings were. It lay on its side, motionless, and if it weren't for the ropes, they would've thought it was asleep. Neither Stoick nor Hiccup had seen a dragon like it before. Therefore, it could only be one thing.

"Night Fury." both Vikings said simultaneously.


	2. Fight and Flight

Chapter 2 – Fight and Flight

"A Night Fury..." Hiccup said, staring open-mouthed at the dragon below. "I actually..."

"...shot it down." Stoick finished for him, also looking disbelieving at the dragon. "Hiccup...you shot down a Night Fury." he said, in a way that sounded more like he was trying to convince himself of that fact. Stoick tore his eyes away from the dragon to look at Hiccup, who, despite having been the one to repeatedly assure that he had shot it down in the first place, still looked every bit as surprised at his father.

Stoick put the dagger he was holding back in his vest, and then climbed over the ridge, making his way down towards the Night Fury. Hiccup followed him without a word, and walked with his father down the hill. They stopped a few feet away from the dragon. Its eyes were closed, although the rise and fall of its chest indicated that it was still alive, but whether it was asleep or unconscious, neither Viking knew.

"Well, dad, you wanted a dragon." Hiccup said finally, attempting to break the uncomfortable silence. "Here it is."

Hiccup tried to look and sound like he had expected to find the dragon all along, when in truth, he knew it was just plain dumb luck that the two had come across it at all. Stoick didn't respond, instead continuing to stare down at the dragon, his expression unreadable.

"Son, this isn't just a dragon." Stoick said finally, his voice low and serious.

"Um...it's not?" Hiccup said, confused. "Because it sure looks like one to me..."

"This is a Night Fury, Hiccup." Stoic said. "Do you know what this means?"

"Uh...that I shot down a dragon?" Hiccup said, unsure of where his father was going with this.

Without warning, Stoick grasped Hiccup by the shoulders, and Hiccup found himself being excitedly shaken by the larger man.

"D-dad! W-what a-are y-you-" Hiccup said, trying to make sense of what his dad was doing.

"You've taken down a legend Hiccup!" Stoick said loudly, beaming down at his son. "You've managed to do by yourself what generations of Vikings couldn't!" He let go of Hiccup, who now felt a little woozy from all the shaking. "It was close, I had almost given up on you." he said, either not realizing or ignoring the unfortunate implications his words had. "I've prayed to Odin for something like this, and here you've done it, finally a true Viking before me! You might actually be able to become chief of the village someday!"

Stoick paused, and then laid a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

"Hiccup." he said. "You've made me proud to be your father."

Hiccup could do nothing but gawk at his father, feeling like a great weight had been lifted from him. His dad was actually showing..._appreciation. _For _him_. All the failures, all the disappointments...those were a thing of the past now. Sure, there would be much more difficult things ahead in the road to becoming a chief, but for now, all Hiccup needed to do was let his dad be proud of him for once.

All of a sudden, a loud growl emanated from the Night Fury. Hiccup let out a yelp and backed away, tripping over his own feet and falling painfully to the ground, while Stoick yanked his dagger back out of his vest, holding it out towards the dragon, looking ready for anything.

"Looks like the beast still has some fight left in it." Stoick said after a moment. Hiccup picked himself up off the ground, and both he and Stoick looked at the dragon's head. A single, slitted green eye gazed back at them.

"Uh...he looks angry." Hiccup said uneasily as he looked down at the ground, unable to face the dragon's piercing stare.

"Dragon's don't have feelings, Hiccup." Stoic said brusquely, looking the dragon in the eye. "All they know is to steal and kill."

The Night Fury let out a hiss and began to struggle against the ropes around it. Both Viking's watched as it wiggled and squirmed, desperate to break the ropes. But they didn't budge, and after a minute, the dragon lay still, letting out a sorrowful whimper. Stoick remained impassive, while Hiccup shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, son..." Stoick said. "...it's time to finish it off."

"Huh?" Hiccup said, doing a double take. "You mean, like, kill it? Right now?"

"Yes, Hiccup." Stoick calmly replied.

A pause fell between the two. The Night Fury eyed them warily.

"Hey, um, dad?"

Stoic turned to look at his son, who looked nervous about something.

"You think that, maybe, we can just...you know...take it to the holding cages?" Hiccup said, scratching the back of his head.

"No son, it's better you kill it now, while it's helpless." Stoic said without missing a beat, turning back to the Night Fury, which snarled at him.

"But dad, wouldn't it that much cooler if I were to...you know, kill it in front of the entire village?"

Stoick turned his head slowly to face his son, his eyes narrowing.

"Do you want to kill this thing or not, Hiccup?" he said, growing irritated.

"But dad-"

"Hiccup." Stoic interjected, holding his hand up. "Your dragon. Your kill."

Hiccup let out a sigh. He opened his vest and took out his knife, turning towards the dragon, when suddenly Stoick stepped forward and grabbed the knife out of his hands.

"Not with this." Stoick said, placing his son's small knife in his vest. "Use this, a real blade." he said, holding his own larger dagger out to Hiccup, who took it hesitantly.

"You alright, Hiccup?" Stoick said, worried about how nervous his son looked.

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine dad. It's just...things are going really fast." Hiccup said, trying to look confident.

"It's alright son, it's not going anywhere." Stoick said in a rare comforting tone.

Hiccup took a breath, and then stepped towards the Night Fury, holding the dagger in both hands. The dragon watched silently as the young Viking approached it, until the boy stopped in front of its chest. Hiccup slowly raised the knife...and then a few seconds later, slowly lowered it back down again.

"Hiccup, what's wrong?" Stoick said, eyes creasing in confusion.

"I...I..." Hiccup stuttered, backing away towards his dad. "...I can't do it dad."

Silence fell between the two, Stoick looking baffled, Hiccup looking anxious. The dragon opened its eyes, wondering why it wasn't dead yet.

"What do you mean you can't do it?" Stoick said, his confusion giving way to anger.

"I...I can't kill it dad." Hiccup said, looking pitifully over at the Night Fury. "I...I just can't."

Stoick stood there, shocked, completely shocked, at what his son had just said. Everything they had gone through, all the years of watching his son try again and again to gain his father's acceptance...

"Hiccup." Stoick said, in a voice of forced calm. "You do realize this a dragon you are killing, right?"

Hiccup looked down at the ground and nodded.

"And you can also see that this a Night Fury? The most dangerous and deadly out of all of them, right?"

Hiccup nodded, still unable to face his father.

"But dad, I...I just..." he began.

"Look at me, Hiccup!" Stoick ordered. Hiccup looked up quickly, surprised at his father's outburst. "We've come too far..._I've_ come too far...for you to just throw this away." Stoick crossed his arms. "You are not leaving until this...this..._thing_ is dead by your hand. Understand?"

Hiccup stared down at the dagger in the hands, conflicting emotions running through him. He looked for a moment like he wanted nothing more but to throw the dagger down to the ground. Then suddenly, it all gave way to a look of determination as he gripped the dagger and looked back up at Stoick.

"I understand...dad." he said slowly, his voice dry and weirdly monotone. "I know what I have to do."

Stoick was surprised by his son's response, having expected the boy to refuse again. But the determined look in Hiccup's face was clear. Perhaps nerves had just gotten to the boy for a second. It was understandable.

"Stand back dad...this thing's mine." Hiccup said unemotionally, turning and walking back towards the Night Fury. Stoick couldn't help but actually back away a few feet from his son, too busy wondering where this Hiccup had been all his life. Hiccup had never shown this type of attitude before, full of confidence and self-assurance. Maybe it had been deep down, buried somewhere underneath all the snarkiness, desperation, and...un-Vikingness.

Maybe deep down, his son had been a true Viking all along.

Hiccup stopped in front of the dragon yet again. It let out a sad groan, hoping that the boy would spare it again, but the look on the former's face was clear. Hiccup took a deep breath, placing both hands on the dagger. He raised it into the air, shaking with determination. The dragon closed it's eyes, waiting for death once again. Stoick watched in anticipation as Hiccup brought down the knife...

...and began cutting away at the ropes.

"Hiccup!" Stoick yelled after a few seconds, unable to comprehend what his son was doing. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Hiccup didn't answer, continuing to cut open the ropes. The Night Fury's eyes widened as it felt a rope come loose. Then another...and another...

"No! Stop!" Stoick shouted, running forward to stop his son.

But it was too late. The Night Fury leaped up, knocking Hiccup back with a single spread of its wings. With a hiss, it pinned the boy down to the ground, who could do nothing but stare up in terror at the dragon. Then suddenly, the dragon's paw came off him as it fell to the side, for Stoick had tackled it with all his might. Stoick wrapped his arms around the beast's head as it tried to recover, and put all his strength into holding it down.

"RUN HICCUP!" Stoick cried. The dragon thrashed wildly around, snarling and hissing, trying to break free from the Viking's hold.

"Dad!" Hiccup yelled, picking himself up off the ground. He stared in horror at the sight of his father holding the offspring of lightning and death itself in his arms, knowing that if the Night Fury got free of his dad...

"JUST GO, HICCUP!" Stoick roared, throwing his full weight onto the dragon's neck. The dragon's fell onto it's side, its paws flailing wildly through the air.

"I'll...I'll go get help!" Hiccup yelled back, before taking off through the forest.

Stoick watched his son go, wondering if this would be the last time he ever saw him. Then he shook his head and pushed those thoughts away, turning his attention back to the dragon in his arms.

"You know who I am, dragon?" Stoick yelled at the Night Fury.

The dragon let out a roar, still struggling to free itself of the Viking's iron grip.

"I AM STOICK THE VAST! CHIEF OF THE HAIRY HOOLIGANS!" Stoick roared back. "AND I WILL NOT DIE THIS DAY!"

The Night Fury found its footing and began to put its full effort into raising its head. As strong and heavy as Stoick was, even he found himself surprised at the dragon's strength. However, that didn't stop the Viking from thinking fast. Changing tactics, he let go of the dragon's neck and instead grabbed the beast's vulnerable ears. Using them as handles, he twisted them as hard as he could, causing the dragon to cry out in pain and force its head down instinctively. It was a mistake, for Stoick slammed his foot into the Night Fury's head a second later. Stunned by the hit, the dragon attempted to yank its ears out of the Viking's hands, but ended up being rewarded for its efforts by yet another kick to its snout.

Throwing all caution to the wind, the dragon pushed through the pain and ran forward, dragging the Viking along beside it. Stoick used the momentum to climb onto the Night Fury's back. The Night Fury bucked and jumped while Stoic struggled to hang on. Dazed, confused, and angry, the dragon raised its head back, leaping off its front paws to fall backwards, but Stoick punched the dragon back down. Desperate, the Night Fury rolled on its side, sending both dragon and Viking sprawling to the dirt. The Night Fury growled as it raised its head, and turned to face its foe, a blue flame forming in its mouth.

However, the Viking was nowhere to be seen. The Night Fury looked all around, confused, but only the trees of the forest filled its view. It shifted its eyes warily from side to side, preparing for anything.

Suddenly, a loud thud sounded from behind the dragon. Instantly, it turned around and shot a fireball, which hit a tree, obliterating the base of it. The tree fell backwards, landing hard against the ground. The Night Fury looked for any sign of a Viking among the destruction, but found none. Then it laid eyes upon a Viking helmet, and the dragon's eyes widened. It only got a second to be surprised, however, for Stoick leaped down from tree above, helmetless, landing on the Night Fury's back. The Night Fury grunted at the impact, and began to shake itself wildly, while Stoick sunk his son's knife into the dragon's shoulder. The Night Fury screeched as Stoick wrenched the knife out of its back, blood dripping off the blade. He readied the knife for another attack, but the Night Fury twisted its body around, forcing Stoick to hold tightly to not be thrown off.

The Night Fury had had enough. Spreading it's wings, the dragon attempted to take off into the sky, taking the Viking with it. But Stoick refused to let the dragon escape so easily. He raised the knife and again stabbed it into the Night Fury's back. The dragon had barely managed to get over the trees before it shrieked in pain and began falling back to earth. Branches whipped and broke across both dragon and Viking, before it slammed headfirst into a tree, sending both of them into free fall about twenty feet above the ground. Stoick held tightly on the dragon's back, while the Night Fury braced for impact, too dazed to do anything else.

They crashed into the earth, the dragon taking the full force of the fall. Stoick, while cushioned by the dragon's body, still felt the wind knocked out of him. The dragon groaned, its eyes shut, clearly exhausted and in pain. Stoick let go of the dragon, sliding off its back. He collapsed as soon as he met the ground, every muscle in his body aching.

Neither of them moved for the longest time. Nothing but the slow pants of both Stoick and the Night Fury filled the air. It was peaceful, and it would've been really easy for Stoick to just fall asleep then and there. But Stoick knew this was no time to rest.

He had a dragon to kill.

Picking himself slowly off the ground, Stoick stumbled past the Night Fury's shoulder, eyeing the wounds he had made. Gripping the knife tightly in his hand, he continued until he stood in front of the Night Fury's head. The Night Fury opened one eye halfway, looking up at the Viking.

"You fought well, beasty." Stoick said coldly as he raised the knife. "But it's time to send you back to Hel where you belong." He let out a cry as he brought down the killing blow.

The dragon pushed itself backwards, barely dodging the blade. The knife sliced through the front of its snout, leaving a deep gash from the top of its left eye to below its mouth. Snarling viciously in both pain and anger, it pounced, knocking Stoick flat on his back. Stoick looked up in shock as the Night Fury placed both paws on his chest, blood dripping down from its gash onto his face. Opening its mouth, the Viking saw nothing but harmless gums...before two rows of sharp, glistening teeth suddenly forced their way out of them. The Night Fury lunged forward, aiming for the man's throat.

Stoick instinctively brought his hands up to block the Night Fury. Unfortunately, while his left hand managed to grab ahold of the dragon's snout, his right arm wasn't so lucky as the Night Fury's teeth sunk deeply into it. Stoick screamed in agony, louder than he had ever screamed in his life. The dragon bit down harder, its teeth digging deep enough into the Viking's flesh to scrape bone. Stoick continued to scream, his shrill cry deafening the Night Fury.

Stoick struggled as hard as he could, but it was to no avail, and soon his arms went limp, his free hand letting go of the Night Fury. The dragon continued to bite down against his arm, threatening to break the man's arm with how hard it was biting, but Stoick could barely feel it anymore. Blood poured down from the wound, the Night Fury refusing to let go as it watched the Viking suffer.

The pain was too much for any man to bear, even for Stoick. He was tired, exhausted, and completely helpless. Going silent, the Night Fury watched the man lay his head down, turning away from the dragon. "Hiccup..." Stoick whispered, his vision fading. "I'm...I'm..." Then he passed out, and knew no more.

The Night Fury gave what looked like a smirk in satisfaction, its teeth stained red with the man's blood. It was over. The dragon had won.

"DAD!" a voice cried out from behind the dragon. Before it could react, a sharp object buried itself deep into the back of the dragon, near the base of its wing. The Night Fury howled in agony, finally removing its teeth from Stoick's arm. Not even bothering to see who its new foe was, it spread its wings, and with one powerful leap, it disappeared into the forest.


End file.
